The Moz Blog

An Open Letter to New SEOs

Dear New SEOs,

First off, let me congratulate you. Whether by luck or good planning, you’ve entered the field at a time when business is booming and just about every decent company I know of is looking for talent. So, you may be wondering – why aren’t they hiring you? Maybe being a dad has gone to my head (I’m sure of it, actually), but I’m here to give you some tough love…

Do First, Then Talk

You’re doing it in the wrong order – you need to read this (hat tip to @chriswinfield). I’ll paraphrase – before you shoot your mouth off about how great you are, prove it. Yes, there are cocky people in SEO, and yes some of them make a lot of money, but you’re not them (at least not yet). Your attitude may get you 500 screaming fan-boys and girls on Twitter who all shout “Hell, yeah!” whenever you strike a key, but unless you’re taking your act to the big screen, fan-boys don’t pay the bills.

It’s not just about arrogance, though. I can’t count how many times I walked into a networking event to drum up business and couldn’t connect to anyone, because I had nothing to talk about. People don’t want to hear about what you could do, given enough time, money, and magic beans. They want to hear about what you have done (or, at least, what you are doing). If you want to get people interested in what you do, then do something interesting.

Build Something (Anything)

In this world, “do something interesting” means create something. It could be a mega blog post like David Mihm’s annual Local Search Ranking Factors, or it could be a tool, like Darren Shaw’s Local Citation Finder. Those are just two examples of dozens that catapulted a relative newcomer to SEO stardom.

The double-whammy is that building something not only shows you have skills, but it communicates your niche. We all want to be all things to all people when we’re first starting out, because we’re so afraid to close any door. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a generalist and I absolutely value a broad skill set. The problem is that being a generalist is horrible for marketing. If someone asks “What do you do?” and your reply is “Anything I get paid to”, prepare not to get paid. People want the “WordPress guy” or the “Link-building gal”. Find your niche – once your foot’s in the door, then you can kick it wide open.

Stop Comparing Yourself

The human brain is funny – some days, you can be cocky and self-doubting all in the same half-hour. There’s one area where the internet is especially awful – it exposes you every day to hundreds of people who are better at everything than you are. Get over it. You don’t have to be #1 or even #10,001 at something to make a living at it. Pick something, and do it until you improve. That’s the secret to everything. Last year, I finished the 100 push-up challenge (100 in a single set). You know how I did it? I did 1 set of 8, then 2 sets, up to 5, then 5 sets of 9, 10, 11… until I hit 5 sets of 40. It took me almost a year, but now I do 200/day most days. You want to become an expert link-builder? Stop watching cat videos and build some damned links.

Bite Off 20% Too Much

You can’t grow unless you push your limits. People say that all the time, so let me put a number against it – always take on 20% more than you think you can handle. In my experience, 20% is the point where you force yourself to keep learning but can still deliver on your promises. If you only ever do what you’ve already done, you’ll always have small projects and small results. Don’t lie about your capabilities, but push your comfort zone every single chance you get.

Work Smarter AND Harder

As techie types, we’re naturally obsessed with building a better mousetrap. That’s great, and there’s always room to work smarter, but there’s also a fine line between efficiency and laziness. Sooner or later, you’ve got to stop looking for shortcuts and iPad apps and start doing the work. Learning enough to call yourself an expert takes hundreds (probably thousands) of hours, and building an online business is a full-time job. If you want to play at it, be my guest. If you want to make a living, then get to work.

Tell People What You Do

It’s amazing how many people in the industry I’ve known for 5+ years now, and I don’t actually know what, specifically, they do. This is a mistake I made for at least the first 2-3 years of being in business for myself – I assumed people knew what I did because I hung out in certain communities and wrote on certain topics. Sure, they had a vague idea of my background and expertise, but it wasn’t until I got specific that I really started landing new clients. Tell people what kind of work you want to do, in detail. If you’re looking for a full time job, say it out loud. Opportunity doesn’t fall out of the sky just because you’ve got the sunroof open.

So, get out there – find what excites you, put in the hours, push your limits, create something, and then share that excitement. Do that, and you’ll reap all the rewards of a growing industry.

128 Comments

For someone who is starting afresh the first and the foremost important thing would be to talk to to someone who has been in this field for some time and can explain the history in detail. Its important to identify what are the key areas that an individual needs to focus. Different avenues that define SEO need to be explained.

Analytical Tools - Some say that Google analytics is mainly related to analytics consulting but i disagree with it. Infact analytics can make or break an SEOs career. One needs to have sound knowlege of Google Analytics and other popular analytics tracking software like Omniture. Same goes for popular tools like Google WMT, Bing WMT etc

Link Building - The SEO fuel if i may say. Its important that right from the beginning the person is made aware and taught the difference between white hat and black hat SEO. If not trained properly the poor guy will land up doing black hat SEO all the time and before he realizes he will be out of the market.

Content Writing - Some call it content marketing but nevertheless one of the most important elements that define the success of an SEO campaign. The newbie should learn how to write SEO friendly content and at the same time not make it keyword stuffed

Basic Level of Coding - Of course an SEO need not be a master programmer but he should be aware of the basic syntaxes that are used in some of the popular programming languages like php, asp etc

Identify your weakness - Some are good at writing and some may be expert coders, some may understand the algorithms and some may just know how to optimize the on page elements. In any case its important that you understand your weaknesses and strengths and accordingly work

Follow and Learn from the right people - There are some leading experts out there, experts like Dr Pete, Rand Fishkin, Gianluca Fiorelli, David Mihm, Mike Blumenthal and very recently Mike King who are doing a fantastic job in spreading the SEO knowledge and it's important that the newbie recognizes these people and follows them. You know what they say, always learn from the best.

Lastly try to build your won niche - If someone advices you to be an expert in all fields of SEO then i would say that its not probably the best idea. Identify where your talent is and that will come only after working in this field for maybe 1-2 years. It may be analytics or places or content writing or something else and once you identify where your skill set is, work towards being the best you can in that field.

Great additions - thanks! One thing I'd add about following and learning, that I think new folks sometimes miss. Don't forget to follow and learn from each other. In other words, don't just chase the experts, but make friends with other people new to the field. Your peers today will become tomorrow's experts, and then your friends will be the influencers. When I entered the SEOmoz community, my "graduating class" (so to speak" included people like Will Critchlow, who is now not only my peer, but runs a successful multi-national consulting firm. Those connections are invaluable - don't underestimate today's newbies. As someone who's emerging as a leader in the class of 2012, I expect you'll experience that soon - if you haven't already :)

Hi Anil! Obviously Sajeet doesn't get paid to comment, he does make amazing contributions to our community every day though. I'm quite thankful for his thoughtful posts every day and I agree with others that I'd like to see another YouMoz post from him!

Haha - yeah, unfortunately, what people want and what they'll pay for are sometimes two different things when you're starting out. It takes a while to bridge that gap, and we can't all farm our work out to Wiep ;)

1. Stop guaranteeing results to new clients, no one can guarantee a result - Google advises people to not trust these types of SEO companies.

2. Do not make up fake client lists - the number of small SEO companies who make fake clients lists is crazy, I recently saw a small business say they are working with 1 business I work with, I asked the business have they ever worked with this company they said they have never heard of them!!

3. Do not call yourself an EXPERT after been in the business 3 months - Ok so you were a real estate agent and now you are in SEO, you are not an expert, it takes time.

This is not the case, these guys have never engaged with an SEO company before hence they are simly making things up.

Yes EDM domains do have a impact on some of those peoples guarantee or they say they can rank for "Brand" but really what is that going to do? If you email one of these "Guaranteed Rank" SEO companies and say I want to rank number 1 for "Life Insurance" I highly doubt their guarantee will last.

I believe that one thing a new SEO, but also the experienced ones, should always stick to is the old Socrates principle that "I know I don't know".

For instance, I know I don't know how it really works the 90% of the code of that website I'm auditing, but I know what code I should look at and who to ask for help when I get lost...

For instance, I know I don't know the 90% of the topics my clients want to rank for, but I know how to collect and curate valuable data thanks to their bigger knowledge, and so guide them in creating a valid Content Marketing strategy.

For instance, I know I don't know the 90% of the awesome things less "social" people, those ones working but not really partecipating actively in any community, know... and I learn something new from them everyday.

And so on...

Be humble, even when you have Ks of fans saying you are great, because are your clients the ones who have to tell you did great things for them... all the other things are nice and welcome gratifications, but not what makes you pay your bills.

Be humble, even if you are objectively a kick ass in one or two things, and put yourself always under examination: don't relax yourself when you think you could do it because of the industry recognition.

And, as Peter says, specialize yourself, aim to be the best one on Earth in one thing, but never forget that everything is connected in marketing.

Great point on knowing what you don't know. I'd add that it's important to build connections to people who do know and can fill in your gaps. This is part of social networking too many newbies miss - they rush for the links and forget to build relationships. The relationships I have with other experts are worth 100X what getting them to RT or Like a post is. They fill in my gaps and make me look like a genius, even in the spots where I'm an idiot.

@Chris "Having a 60 second pitch" is something that helps with lots of things. I've lost count on the number of times I've been asked what I do, and I've fumbled around trying to explain something in layman's terms only to baffle the listener and sound like a confused dork!

I would go as far as saying even a 15 second 'pitch' is better - get it into one sentence, that then stimulates a discussion rather than leave someone bored and not interested. talk less and listen more ;)

I agree.
Avoid the sales pitch speech. Keep it natural, as if telling it for the first time.
Keep it as simple and short as possible. But no simpler. Then, if time allows. Be silent. Let it sink in to the listener.
When they nod or something. Continue the silence! Must wait for them to continue from where they want to learn more.
It can be tedious, but it's the best way i can think of.

FWIW, I'm terrible at the elevator pitch. I probably change it every month. I'm lucky to be able to blog and use the long version of my story, but it really is incredibly effective to be able to drill it down and still sound sincere. That's an art form, and I really admire the people who do it well.

Well written post. It truly represents the reality of this world. Struggling and consistency are the keys of success. Without these two things we can’t be able to find success in any field of life. I always obey one single quote “Try Try again till you succeed” and it always leads me to success whatever I want to do.

This post is awesome Pete. I, too, screwed up many of these over the last decade. I think particularly the "Do First, then Talk" one was hard for me. I learn by talking, sharing ideas, and hearing other people's experiences. This is a challenge in an industry that so heavily weights your past actions and deliverables. It was like "why is she even in this conversation, what has she done?" ... tough love for sure. I took the time to circle back and spent years just chipping away at new channels, new lessons, new projects. I talked less, and did more. It has helped me not just get more from conversations, but also give more to them...which has helped in so many ways.

Superb Addition to the post Dr. Pete! The best part is the way you draft this content, the format of a letter makes it really easy and interesting to read.

Are you great? Prove it, is the very 1st thing that unfortunately I learned quite late. There is lot of junk out there in the SEO arena so to prove you are different, ethical, smart and results driven that can really help business to grow organically the you have to have something at your back. I started writing as a guest writer on different famous blogs as a guest writer quickly after I realize this.

USP (Unique Selling Point) Please! The world is quite commercial in all aspects so no matter if you have a product or even if you are going for a job interview one will always look for that “X” factor that makes you unique from other candidates.

SEO is an umbrella but one have to have some expertise in this area, thing around you and you will find Ann Smarty’s name next with Guest blogging, Wil Reynolds name next to Link Building, David Mihm’s name next to Local SEO.

Pushing the limits is very necessary, especially for an industry this is in a continuous state of evolving... Set your Goals for the year and see your progress after every 3 months. This is great if you set (not easily achievable) goals and see if you can achieve it! Challenge yourself and give extra efforts to hit the target.

Tell People what you exactly do, is really important and I think this is important as this actually let other people know about your industry... People get to know about Inbound Marketing and if you are really good at explaining what you do, you can make wonders out of it!

I think the USP is a great example of where being specific is so important. Anyone can say "Greatest SEO firm ever!" or "We leverage our expertise to achieve success!", but what does it mean? A real USP clearly and uniquely communicates what you're good at.

It came as a bit of a wake-up for me, who after becoming frustrated that none of my white-hat, high quality, SEO strategies seemed to be making any difference, started drifting into some possible gray tactics. Even if those were to work, if I were to brag in an interview that I got my company into the top 3 position, would I be comfortable explaining HOW I went about it?

Great advice Dr. Pete. I've always made it a point to have a "5-star example" of what I do/can do in regards to the type of clients I want to chase (or be chased by.)

For example, I currently have 2 websites (one Joomla, one Wordpress) that I use as examples quite often, to help show potential clients exactly what I can do on those platforms from a development standpoint. Those 2 sites also have well optimized content, rank well, and get quality traffic that sticks around for the long haul.

Showing clients that I can do such things for myself definitely instills confidence that I will be able to do the same for their business.

Thanks for the prescription, Dr. I see a lot of things to consider - especially telling people what you do. I think one of the most brilliant gems in this is 'find what excites you.' The feeling of doing something enjoyable is that ether professionals needto find.

Speaking from a somewhat (visible) newb perspective, I ask the veterans, the teachers, to not forget what it was like and realize many of you are role models whether you adopt the Charles Barkley approach or appreciate the attention and opportunity to help.

It's intimidating to partake in a community with so many intelligent and established personalities. Perhaps from an experienced-vet perspective, newer faces may get the suspicious eye much like the mention of SEO gets outside of our industry. It's understandable. I've had the opportunity to loosely connect with some veterans so far and whether I end up an 'oracle' or 'obscure' member in this community, I'll NEVER forget those who have helped me so far.

Thanks for the shout-out Pete! I don't know about the stardom bit though. David, for sure, but there is still so much for me to learn.

Your point is bang on. Building the Local Citation Finder has been huge for my career, and it actually pushed me into my niche. I had dabled in local SEO when I launched it, but now it's pretty much all I do, and I'm attracting quality clients from all over the world. It's amazing how the SEO community has supported Whitespark, and me. Thank you!

Thanks Dr. Pete for this great post. I'm a new SEO going through the newness factor, and you have put together a great post that I will now keep in the back of my mind at all times. You have pointed out really great advice for newbies like me. Get out there and do some hard work, create something, tell people about it, quit the comparisons, and challenge yourself. You made it simple and to the point.

Anway, my point wasn't to promote his post or his view, but I did find it entertaining to read. He did post a few follow ups however, and eventually appologizes (including a reply from Danny Sullivan.)

Brilliant post, I am trying to become good at Link Building I have watched 100's of Videoes and read a lot of books but your right I have no real experince no clients and nothing to show what I have done

Being a generalist can get you in pickles with family too.. all of a sudden you're the IT guy/gal & can fix anything computer related. Don't get me wrong.. it's ok the first 10 or so times... I think if your friends & family understand what you do.. then business will too

Good post Pete. My advice to the people new to SEO is to create an account on ebay (or other similar site) and sell the items they don't want it anymore or just any item they want to sell. This activity alone can teach them hundred different aspects of online marketing. Learning by doing and not just by reading.

I wasn't sure where you were going with that for a second - I thought you meant that new SEOs should sell all their stuff on eBay to pay for food and keep the lights on ;)

I think you make a really good point - something as simple as selling a few things on eBay can help you refine your headlines, call-to-action, etc. and really understand the full cycle. Build your own sites, even if they're small, try your hand at affiliate marketing, etc. When you're your own client, you can do what you like and try some crazy stuff. That's how you learn.

Regarding "Build Something (Anything)," there are lots of worthy non-profit groups that would love to have someone volunteer to support, improve, fix, or build their websites. You get real world experience and make the world a better place. Often some of the most influential people in a community are involved in non-profits - as you get involved you will have the opportunity to meet these "movers and shakers" - if you do good work these people can help you with your career/business.

I'm going to forward it to all new SEO guys whom I know! I want to add one more thing about mind bubbles. I have started my career in SEO since 2007 & I was question boy in company and online discussion board. I have request to all new SEOs.. Don't wait to ask question which you have. Justify trustworthy source at your own which can you probably accurate answer about your question. That source may be your team leader or online discussion board.

I want to share one silly suggestion with all... I'm still sleeping with my diary and pen in my bed. If I will receive any mind bubble or question or solution about SEO so, I will write down in my diary. Try to gather each and every questions & solutions at one place. You have to be ready 24X7 for it. You will rock!!

This is a pretty good motivational blog. I was hoping to get some tips that I could sink my teeth into to get started as a newbie, like what niches are growing and some pitfalls to avoid. Overall, I feel it was a good write though. Keep on Bloggin"!

Biting off 20% too much is a good way to think about it. Moving out of your existing comfort zone is the trick to learning more I guess and this is something I strive to do each day if possible. Thanks

I should have read this ages ago. A good read! I'm building something at the moment that may or may not rocket me to stardom (with the help of a few big names which always helps). Lets wait and see. Really good advice on networking as well.

Well I am new to SEO too, and trust me Dr. Pete ur post is so motivating and encouraging for the aspirants. I want to learn alot and give my 100%. Surely with the best practices applied!! :) .. I will be fortunate to get guidance from all the experts here !! :)

Great letter here Dr. Peter to all new SEOs. I agree with you that as a beginner, we need to create our own identity. We must not imitate others and most especially we must not compare ourselves to others. If others are successful, then we can look up to them and follow some of thier strategies. In that way, we will also be successful just like them in the future.

Thanks for such a brief guide, it is not only for SEO newbie’s, it also helpful for any one who jut inter in his professional life.

I am also agreed to the last point that "Tell people what to do", I am hesitating to tell peoples that what I do, because lay man don't know about SEO. So it is very hard to explain any one that what I do.

But I am very happy tell here that what I do because there is no any here to ask me that what is "SEO" :P

Well I am doing online marketing for a well know PDF software which is named as Classic PDF editor.

It would appear I was late to the wedding! Sorry, great post. I mean it, GREAT post. Now, if we could just get the world to listen to you....

When I read this I think of the mistakes made as I have gone along. Do First Then Talk - when I started growing I pointed out mistakes as a method to show my knowledge way too often: "Whoever built your site, set up Local SEO, is doing organic, etc. made the following mistakes:1, 2, 3, 4, ...etc." Today its: Overall I like the direction of the design, a few things to consider with changes that have taken place on the web..... Being able to then show something we have done to illustrate the point, makes a big difference. Also, telling people about yourself or your qualifications, expertise, etc. is boring. I find asking questions to be quite impactful.

Build Something - excellent advice. I think we shall follow it, hopefully you will be able to mention it in a post one day.

Stop Comparing Yourself - this is good on too many levels. (Even the "how is this page outranking me" level). In business constantly comparing myself to the competition is a great way to lose track of where I want to go. BTW currently using 100 pushup app on Iphone in challenge with 14 yo son and a friend of his. I'll PM you when I am there. (remember, I am an older guy).

Bite Off 20% Too Much - Excellent idea. Put a number on it and keep yourself in check. Good one.

Work Smarter and Harder - You may eventually have to write a business "how to" with this kind of advice. Learning enough to call yourself an expert takes hundreds (probably thousands) of hours. In Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, he talks about studies that show it takes 5,000 hours to master something. I would have to agree.

Tell People What You Do - OK, write the friggin book Dr. Pete. This quote is from a matchbook cover I saw as a kid (mom smoked, sorry): He who has a thing to sell and goes and whispers in a well, is not as apt to get the dollar as he who climbs a tree and hollers. anon.

So, you are now becoming a business help advisor. Hmmm, sounds like you may end up a Renaissance man.

Great post Dr Pete. I am just few months old in SEO field and a post really motivates me. Specially the point Work Harder and Smarter. Really informative and inspiring, love to follow your steps. I appriciate the advice!

Well I think there is something missing to be mentioned here and that is "OBSERVATION" ... although it is quite obvious for many yet I wanted to add this just so that the perfect post leaves nothing outside! A keen observing power with guts to implement it is I think the key to achieve! What I have learned so far from my almost 1 year career in SEO is don’t just do things because everyone else is doing, do it because you know the logic behind. Make your own set of mistakes and find ways to correct them. This way you will easily find your niche as well as expertise.

This is exactly what I made to be recruited in a local SEO agency. I worked (and studied on books and websites) hard all by myself, on a site and used it as my "this is what I can do".I thought this was the best way to show people my (potential) skills.

The most important point made in the post is that building an online business or brand is a full time job. That statement should not be taken lightly as the effort involved in building an online brand for most is a huge task. Imagine there are a massive number of websites out there all competing in their niches trying to get on top and the web keeps on growing. Getting noticed even is difficult at times.

Hello Dr. Pete, first of all thank you very much for such a beautiful post. I'm in the field of www since 3 years but started to learn SEO 2 months back and now think exactly the same you said, "Do first, then talk".

This is a great post. I use this philosophy in my video work. Recently the "bite off 20% more" received rave reviews from my client, resulting in much more work. Sometimes you have to roll the dice and risk it in order to win big. And even if you don't, you learn some valuable lessons from it and move on.

This is a great post and quite frank and honest. I like these two points especially:

Want to be a link builder? Then stop watching videos of cats and build some... links.- stop dreaming about doing well in any job and just get on and walk the talk. Use time wisely and plan - be structured and be self-controlled when it comes to using the net when you're supposed to be working (employed and self-employed alike).

20% MoreAs someone who works in SEO and web design I can really agree with this. In both I have taken on work where I know it will push me a little bit more and it pays off - you end up with more complex jobs and a better reputation AND your skills move on. This means you can keep taking on increasingly complex work. So I wholeheartedly agree with this.

As a newbie to SEO, it was very helpful for me, particularly regarding the niche. I think it will take time, but I will definitely focus on recognizing my niche and imrpove that constantly by pushing my limits. Great work Dr. Pete to guide newbies like us.

Wow... David Mihm’s Local Search Ranking Factors is incredible! And I think your last point is particularly interesting. I was just at SMX, and after reading that last paragraph, I've realized that I don't know what most of the people whos business cards I received really do for work... even while knowing their titles. Being more specific will definitely be valuable going forward. Thanks Dr. Pete.

I think that newbie SEOs will find that pitching and explaining their work often comes with the job and so it is very important to know how to do this properly. If you're pitching a prospective client, I agree with Dr. Pete that you must have created or done something remarkable. That way your ability will not be (so much) in question. However, it's also important to invest time in research before pitching so the pitch is about how you'll help the client in contrast to what you do. SEO can be really misunderstood from the client side and so clearly explaining what you plan to do can give you an important competitive edge. This is my small tip to new SEOs. Great communication is key. Well done Dr. Pete.

I'm new in this blog . Your post is the first I read here and I'm totally agree with You. Because If You do SEO, You need to work hard and every day learn more and be quick, otherwise You can't see result.

Great advice there. I think one of the most interesting elements of our industry is, perhaps more than any other industry there is - everyone is trying to get to number 1. Our day to day focus is about beating the competition and if we can't make it happen for one site we'er working on you can guarantee for others we can make it work. It's not like sport where you slog your guts out and one person gets the top spot and that's it - there is so much scope in our industry to allow our egos to run out of control! We also spend a hell of a lot of time talking and reading - I don't know any other industry where there is so much of this going on and I suppose it's because we say well Google updates its algorithm so often we have to be ahead of the game, however sometimes I think we all just like the sound of our voices a bit too much. Probably something about the type of people that become SEOs in a way!

Amazing post Dr. Pete, I couldn't agree more with some of the points, especially with "people want to hear about what have you done" Having a strong portfolio is a must, whether you are interviewing for a new job or negotiating a deal with a new client.

I was just thinking this post would be a good to use as part of SEOmoz's guidelines. For example, it could be sent in a "getting started" email to new users who sign up for SEOmoz. Or there could be a link to this post on the "Learn SEO" page.

Well put. As with any growing profession, the cup runneth over with "experts" and "solutions". I get at least one phone call per day from a vendor guaranteeing #1 rankings. I'm so glad that I've gained enough knowledge in this field to realize that there's no magic bullet to hurtle my company to the top and keep us there. SEO is a lot of grunt work on lots of moving parts that constantly change. The information on sound practices is no secret and widely available (thanks to SEOmoz et al.). It's the hard work, consistency, and constancy that makes an SEO program successful. Regardless what anybody may pitch or perceive, there's definitely no such thing as set it and forget it in this industry. It's like laundry...no matter how small or large the load, there's always something that needs to be washed!

Agreed! Let s talk press-ups...
We ve meet our share of SEOs beginners and advanced, with narrowed or wide experience...we also meet clients on a daily basis who still consider they know better because they belong o seomoz or econsultancy and buy reports!
An open letter should be written on "specialized" digital recruiters who have no experience of the industry and the field and still send the wrong candidates!

Duly noted - you should probably watch out for the self-professed experts :) I do think there come's a time when you realize you're not an amateur and have solid skills in a niche. In all seriousness, I find that genuinely recognizing what you do know is as important as recognizing what you don't know.

I've gone push-up/press-up mad. Anyone on Twitter can tell you. Aiming to do 50,000 in 2012.

I'm now avidly following your push-up progress on Twitter. You must be planning 200 a day x 250 days = 50,000. So good to have a challenge outside SEO. Presumably you are not reading a book on the floor at the same time? :-)

Very much appreciate this post. Question: Is being a writer and basic website coder enough of a USP? (I don't know php, nor Javascript.) I am a former journalist who now writes all the copy and website code for my small business website. We're doing well in our small market, but it's not like we have dozens of competitors. (We're an upholstery shop.)

Lots of small businesses don't know how to write copy OR code sites, and are also uncomfortable with the technical aspects of FTP, ISP, etc etc. So, I'd like to start a consultancy based on these offerings, however, I'm not sure whether I should go further in my SEO training just to start. I sure wouldn't mind learning more, but I am thinking that I have some good skills already and I don't want to be all things to everyone, just offer a few good things. So the question is, do I have enough to begin? Is one successful site enough? I have a personal website as well, but I don't yet advertise SEO work, so I haven't spent more time optimizing it. (Kind of the chicken-or-egg problem.)

I think it's sometimes helpful to dig into a niche a bit. What kind of writer are you? Do you specialize in style, industry, etc.? There are a lot of copywriters and coders out there, so the more you can differentiate, the more you'll get people's attention. Once you've got their attention, you can exercise your skills a lot more broadly.

Very insightful Dr Pete: you've hit the nail on the head with a few nuggets in there. Back in the day before the Internet you had to do all these things you mention in order to get a business going. It's easy now to assume that Internet = easy and the more insightful SEOs (or any Internet busines owners) will do some good old fashioned hard graft and reap the rewards. It's also a great idea to ensure you present a professional front with all business dealings: this stands out from the sea of competitors who might come across as a bit casual. Nice one.

This is a nice post not just for new SEO's but older ones as well. I think there are too many people in this industry that think they are the cat's bag. What ever happened to being a humble? Or just a good peer?

Dr. Pete, Couldn't agree more on taking an extra twenty points. I think we all, as SEO's or some form of it need to be self-motivated. By taking some extra work you don't give yourself the chance to say i'll do it later.

That being said if you forget to finish something you'll quickly learn to not do it agian.

"That’s great, and there’s always room to work smarter, but there’s also a fine line between efficiency and laziness. Sooner or later, you’ve got to stop looking for shortcuts and iPad apps and start doing the work."

I agree with this 100%. We can spend half the day looking for new tools and methods to get something done faster when we could have done it manually in 30 minutes. I think if it's something that you do every day and every week manually, then yea spending the half day to find a better tool is a good use of your time. But if you're always being lazy and looking for a shortcut tool for all the random tasks you do once in a while, then catch yourself and just do it the old fashioned way. At least that's what I think :).

Dr. Pete - great post - since SEO involves a constant learning curve we all need to take your advice to the newbies. We may be on page SEO experts but are we great content creators, or do we understand all the potential impacts of Google+? Bite off an extra 20%? I think I'm normally at about 50%!

Great post! I've been at this for a few yeras now, and if htere's one thing that I am horrible at is selling myself and building my own brand presence...not that I have much of a brand. But the point is if you're new, you have a great opportunity to build your own presence while you build your client's brands.

If I could empart one tip to the newbies out there, it would be to work extremely hard on achieving white hat results for your clients while at the exact same time work just as hard on achieving results for your own site. If you're doing contract work, make sure your name is out there as the SEO behind the scenes. As you build up your client to be an 'expert in their field online,' you can simultaneously build yourself up as an 'expert in that particular niche' in terms of SEO. Never forget that every client, every positive piece of feedback, every connection that you make while marketing that client, should be used for your own good as well. See everything as an opportunity not only for your client, but for yourself as well.

Agreed, this is a phenomenal post from Dr. Pete. To your point about 'selling yourself'. Most people are horrible at this. I think the best way for people to sell themselves is to just go about bringing consistent results for your clients. People talk and your reputation will build but it takes a lot of time. I'm not an SEO at an agency, but I hire SEO agencies. As a client of SEO agencies I can tell you it's all about results, trust, and consistency. I wrote a blog post about this called A Tale of Two SEO Agencies: How One Got Our Trust and The Other Didn't. In that post I tell a story about my experience picking an SEO agency to do work for our company. Maybe it'll give you some food for thought.

Great post, my only problem with taking this information to the bank and getting started with showcasing my SEO guruness is that I don't have the luxury of narrowing down my expertise. I've been doing SEO for lets say almost 2 years and PPC for 3 years+. I enjoy doing SEO more than PPC but not suprisingly I get better results with PPC. I feel like I have been given a gift with Panda since I wasn't complacent in my methods for SERP rankings and where people say "SEO is dead" I say its how it always should have been. My position at my current company is Search Engine Marketer and I am the one who is in charge of both fields and CRO so needless to say that my time is easily split down the middle depending on the month.

Any suggestion on how I can showcase my abilities at on-page optimization and my ever growing knowledge technical SEO while still splitting my time between AdWords keyword tool and My Client Center(I have other sources for keyword research, but felt that this was a bit more impactful)?

I think there's an important distinction here. A lot of times, you have to take on a wide array of jobs and duties (whether you're in-house, agency, or a consultant), and that's fine. I'm all for learning that way, honestly. Where I think you have to narrow is in your messaging. Do what you have to do, day to day, but when you sell your skills, either to your boss or clients, find some focus. It's a lot easier for people to connect to you if they have a specific sense of what you're good at. You can own a lot of hats, but try to only keep one on your head at a time :)

There's no certification for SEO - if you sound like you know what you're talking about, and you know a little more than your prospect does, you're an "expert." Just not next to anyone who really knows their shit.

I once was asked to coach a total n00b before a job interview. This was for an SEO position, and he had, literally, zero experience. Didn't know the first thing. I told him to read the SEOmoz Beginner's Guide to SEO the weekend before his interview. He got the job.

Turned out he did good work and got shit done. Thankfully. But it shows you how much room for BS there has been in this industry.

Awesome post Pete. I have been in the industry for about 5 and a half years and your "Stop Comparing Yourself" point def hits home with me. While there's certainly nothing wrong with looking up to and turning to "experts" for advice and tips, it seems that many SEOs (myself included) try to hard to mimick what others are doing instead of picking something and doing it until they are good at it.

Another point I feel is worth mentioning -- "Overlooking the Team Aspect of SEO/Marketing" -- I grew up playing team sports and am still active with them to this date and I feel that you can compare SEO/marketing to team sports. Of course, you want to make a name for yourself in any profession and be looked at as a standout but at the same time, surrounding yourself with a great "team" is ultimately what will get you to that level I feel. This can go hand in hand with "Bite Off 20% Too Much" -- yes, force yourself to keep learning by default but learning becomes a lot easier when you surround yourself with a great team.

Again, awesome post! It's great to see posts geared towards those just getting into SEO but that also reinforces advice for more intermediate SEO's.